Interpretive Summary: Blood sugar levels are elevated in a large segment of the population and this is often due to insulin that is not functioning properly. In addition, dietary and physical stresses cause further detrimental effects on blood sugar and insulin. One nutrient that is important in the control of blood sugar and insulin is chromium. Dietary intake of chromium is also often suboptimal and we have shown that stresses increase chromium losses leading to further declines in status. We used an experimental rat model to further determine the role of chromium and related factors in response to the stress of burn injury. This work is important to determine the nutritional intervention that may be important to combat burn injury and other stresses. There was a mobilization of chromium to the insulin sensitive muscle tissue in response to stress. These changes were also accompanied by large increases in blood glucose and insulin. These results suggest that improved chromium status leading to improved insulin function may help in combating burn injury and other stresses. This work could be important to the large portion of the population with elevated levels of blood sugar that may be related to insufficient dietary chromium, especially those with added stresses that may further deplete chromium stores.

Technical Abstract:
Glucose metabolism and insulin function are altered in burn injury. Considering the role of chromium (Cr) as an insulin sensitizer, our objective was to investigate the changes of tissue Cr concentrations and glucose/insulin related variables following thermal aggression in rats to demonstrate a possible role of Cr in response to burn injury. A third-degree thermal injury involving 20% of total body surface area was applied under anesthesia in accord with the guidelines of the National Institutes of Health and the French Army Ethical Committee. Chromium concentrations in liver decreased progressively and were non-detectable on days 5 and 10 following injury. In muscle, Cr concentrations increased 6 hours after injury and then declined significantly within the first day and remained at these levels the following 9 days. Urinary Cr losses were also increased. Changes in kidney, brain and serum Cr were not significant. Postprandial glucose rose 6 hours after thermal aggression and then returned to levels measured before the burn injury. There was a significant rise in corticosterone reaching a maximum the first day after injury that was accompanied by significant increases in circulating insulin and glucagon that were maximal after two days. Changes in IGF-1 were not significant. In summary, changes in Cr concentrations were associated with an early hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia and increased secretion of stress hormones. These observations strongly suggest a mobilization and utilization of Cr following burn injury. Additional studies are needed to document that improved Cr status will lead to improved recovery following burn injury.